I was thinking recently that I often give you these words of encouragement from the Lord, thinking they’re just for you, but then, it turns out they are for me as well.

One of the things the Lord has been saying to me personally is, “Come on, Cindy. Stop beating yourself up.” I often think about where I am in life - I’m 68 now - and where I want to go.  I was in Washington D.C. awhile ago, and the Lord gave me a word: “Don’t be a settler.”

I’ve been asking Him what it means, and I realize that, as we grow in life, there are times where we think about things we might do but then just choose to settle for where we are now. And sometimes that may be good, but I also want to say to you - don’t settle for second best. This is what the Lord has been saying to me, “Don’t settle for second best. I have given you destiny and a calling, and I want you to fulfill it. Cindy, you’re a pioneer, and you’re always going to be a pioneer."

And I feel like this is for you too. God has such a big destiny for you, for all of us. Don’t limit God by what you settle on. Don't settle into thinking, Well, I'm lonely; maybe I'll always be lonely. Or, I never got married, so I'm a failure or I was passed over. That is totally the enemy trying to hurt your emotions. Don't settle for that. Get excited about God. Get excited about doing new things. Always look for something greater. Don't say, “Well my greatest days are behind me.” Your greatest days are not behind you. Why? Because God knew how old you'd be today. God knew where you'd be today.

So stand. If you're having health problems, fight. Stand on the word of God. The Lord showed me some of those things about myself, so let's do this together, can we? Let's believe together that we are pioneers. We're not settlers. We're not settling for second best. We're going to go for our full purpose, our full destiny in life. I want the Lord to say to you, “Well done, faithful servant.” I want God to say that to me too. Let's go into the year going forward and not settling. It's a new day.